Court approves plans for antiquities at Venizelos metro station in Thessaloniki

The Council of State on Thursday judged the removal and subsequent return of the antiquities discovered during the construction of the Thessaloniki’s underground metro to Venizelos station to be fully legal and constitutional, dismissing objections raised by the Thessaloniki municipality.

The municipality resorted to the court to block a 2014 culture ministry decision for the construction of the metro station around the antiquities, which are to be preserved and placed on display inside the station. To this end, the ministry instructed that the remains be removed and stored, then returned to their positions inside the station.

The Thessaloniki Municipality claimed that the ministerial decision violated the constitutional principle of proportionality, since the “worst solution for the protection of the cultural environment was selected, which results in the permanent disappearance of the specific historic monument as a complete whole.” It also argued that the decision violated laws on the protection of antiquities and cultural heritage.

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